1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the manufacture of integrated circuit connector contacts and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for rotationally orienting clips and sockets. Carrier strip mounted oriented clips may be used alone or brought together with oriented sockets onto a carrier strip while maintaining the orientation to facilitate subsequent processing and shipment.
2. History of the Prior Art
Integrated circuit connector contacts are used to make both electrical and mechanical interconnection with the leads of an integrated circuit package, which leads are generally rectangular in cross-section. Such contacts conventionally include a cylindrical upper socket portion having a cylindrical top opening for receiving integrated circuit package leads and a downwardly extending tail portion for mounting the socket onto a mounting substrate and/or for interconnecting the contact with wiring. Each integrated circuit connector contact also includes a small circular clip including resilient tines, fitted into the cylindrical top opening for gripping a package lead inserted therein. The clip is open at the top and includes a cylindrical upper portion and four inwardly and downwardly extending resilient tines. The tip ends of each of the tines are square, orthogonal to one another, and form a generally square opening at the lower end of the clip. It is highly desirable for the clip to be rotationally oriented with respect to an axially extending rectangular circuit lead so that the four straight lower edges of the tines are in flush parallel engagement with the flat rectangular faces of the integrated circuit package leads. Rotational disorientation of the tines of the clip with respect to the leads to be inserted and connected renders the interconnection unreliable as well as decreases the consistency of the push-in and push-out forces required to insert and withdraw the leads from the contact.
The majority of the integrated circuit connector contact sockets are manufactured by screw machineing with a square tail portion attached to the cylindrical socket so that the tail of each contact can receive wire wrapped interconnection. Additionally, if the contact tail is to receive an interconnecting female portion, the tail must be rotationally oriented so that the square faces of the tail engage corresponding square faces of the female socket portion. Thus, it is highly desirable from a manufacturing standpoint to provide integrated circuit contacts attached to a carrier strip and held so that two of the square sides of the contact tail are parallel to the length of the carrier strip and two are perpendicular to the strip. Once the contacts are mounted to the carrier strip, the contacts may be further processed such as by selective plating, or installation into an insulator.
In the past, lead clips having resilient tines have been manufactured as part of a continuous carrier strip and, while on the strip, are rotationally oriented with respect to one another. The clips on the strip are inserted into open ends of the sockets one at a time and then the assembled contact is cut free for subsequent processing. Once the clips are cut free from the carrier strip, all rotational orientation of the contact is lost.
The method and apparatus of the present invention produces a plurality of lead clips having resilient tines rotationally oriented parallel to the axis of the strip for mounting into receiving apertures. Additionally, the method and apparatus of the present invention produces a plurality of strip mounted integrated circuit connector contacts having the square tail portions of the sockets oriented with respect to the axis of the strip and including inner clips having resilient tines installed into the socket portions of the contact with the square tip end portions of the tines oriented parallel to the sides of the square tails and, thereby, with respect to the axis of the strip.